NC couple plans for dolphin-assisted baby delivery

A couple from North Carolina announced online they want to have their baby in the ocean, with the assistance of wild dolphins.

Heather Barringer, 27, and Adam Barringer, 29, from the Noda area have signed up for what's called a dolphin-assisted birth, according to a video posted to YouTube a few months ago. In the video, the couple had a lot of say about their pregnancy plans.

"We want to really be pioneers of sorts to really kind of open more people up to this, like it's already meant to be," said expectant father Adam Barringer in the video.

They said they paired with a research institute in Hawaii called the Sirius Institute, the group describes its purpose as "dolphinizing the planet."

"Dolphins are very much about living in harmony and we feel we can learn a lot of about them and pass it on to people," said Star Newland of the Sirius Institute in a video posted to YouTube.

The institute does not keep dolphins in captivity. Instead they work with wild dolphins so they plan their human births in the middle of the ocean.

Some have debated the safety and benefit of dolphin-assisted births in the wake of the Barringers' video.

In their video, the couple said they would arrive in Hawaii at the end of April, giving them two months to swim with the dolphins before their July due date.

FOX Carolina attempted to contact the couple but was unsuccessful. FOX Carolina did get in contact with the Sirius Institute, who said the Barringers had actually left Hawaii and returned to North Carolina. A staff member said the couple had chosen a pre-birth dolphin assistance rather than the full dolphin-assisted water delivery.